


Days Like These

by DeadlyNova



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Napping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25004725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadlyNova/pseuds/DeadlyNova
Summary: When it was nearly 2pm and 2-D hadn't left his room, Russel knew it would be one of those days.So he did what he did every other time. He went to the kitchen and made a nice big mug of peppermint tea. He used 2-D's favorite mug, the one Noodle had painted for him when she was very small, painted in the tacky but endearing way that only a child could manage. 2-D very rarely used anything else. He'd been trying to wean him off of using it, trying to explain to him that it would wear out and be ruined if he didn't stop, the damn thing was twenty years old now and the colors had faded quite a bit, but he never wavered.
Relationships: Russel Hobbs/Stuart "2D" Pot
Comments: 10
Kudos: 57





	Days Like These

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GleefulChibi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GleefulChibi/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift one of the best friends in my life, GleefulChibi! Her birthday was a week ago, but this past week I've had writers block and also been incredibly busy, so this is a bit late. ^^ I'm sorry. I hope you like it anyway and it makes up for it being late. I'm sorry it's not the best thing I've ever written and also not smut, but I still think it turned out pretty good!

Russel hated the fact he'd gotten used to days like these. 

He shouldn't be used to it. It shouldn't happen so much that he was used to it.

It shouldn't happen so often that they had a routine for days like these. 

But they did. 

When it was nearly 2pm and 2-D hadn't left his room, Russel knew it would be one of those days. 

So he did what he did every other time. He went to the kitchen and made a nice big mug of peppermint tea. He used 2-D's favorite mug, the one Noodle had painted for him when she was very small, painted in the tacky but endearing way that only a child could manage. 2-D very rarely used anything else. He'd been trying to wean him off of using it, trying to explain to him that it would wear out and be ruined if he didn't stop, the damn thing was twenty years old now and the colors had faded quite a bit, but he never wavered. 

Russel usually used a different one when he made 2-D a drink, but he figured he could use the extra comfort today. 

He made his way to his boyfriend's bedroom door and knocked, quietly as he could. Loud noises wouldn't be good for him, right now. 

2-D didn't answer, but that wasn't unusual. The knock was more of a signal that he was going to come in anyway, after all. 

He opened the door as quietly as he could before slipping into the room and shutting it behind him. He gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the dark. 

The lights were off, the blinds were shut, and the curtains were drawn. There was a fleece blanket held up in front of the window with thumbtacks, and Russel made a mental note to invest in some blackout curtains. 

The lights always made the headaches worse. The first time he'd seen 2-D like this, many, many years ago, he'd made the mistake of flipping the lights on and he'd never forgiven himself for the absolute agony he'd put the younger man through. After that he'd always been very careful. 

There was only a small sliver of light coming in from the window and from under the door, and after a moment Russel's eyes had finally adjusted to it and he was able to see. 

He looked over to the bed and saw a lump of blankets, his boyfriend hidden underneath. 

He set the mug on the nightstand before kneeling beside the bed and gently placing a hand somewhere along the lump, on what he assumed was 2-D's shoulder. 

"Hey, 'D, you okay?" 

"R-Russ?" The reply was so quiet it was almost unintelligible. Russel bit his lip. Today must be a bad one. 

He knew the other man always had a throbbing pain in his skull. It was simply something he'd learned to live with for more than half of his life now. It wasn't ideal, but it was the way things were, and there wasn't really anything they could do about it at this point. 

But on days like these? It must have been unbearable. To see 2-D, who had grown so accustomed to hiding the pain he was in with a smile, be completely unable to handle it, nearly sent _him_ to the breaking point. 

Every time he had to control himself to keep from marching across the house to give Murdoc an ass whooping, to give him a piece of his mind, to ruin his life like he'd ruined 2-D's. 

But he wouldn't do it. He could easily bash Murdoc's head in and force him to endure eternal headaches like he did to 2-D all those years ago, but he wasn't that kind of man. He was better than that. 

And he didn't want to upset 2-D. 

So he ignored the urge and focused on what he _could_ do, and that was do everything in his power to make his boyfriend feel just a little bit better. 

He rubbed a hand along 2-D's shoulder. 

"Brought ya some tea. Figured it'd make ya feel a lil' bit better." 

It took a moment for the blue haired man to let out a reply. "Fanks, Russ..." 

A little bit of shuffling later and he had pulled down the blankets a little bit, revealing his face. Even in the dark Russel could see just how bad he looked. The dark circles around his eyes seemed even darker than usual, and he'd clearly been crying. His face was pale and his hair was sweat-plastered to his forehead. Russel gently pushed it back with a frown. 

"Want me to stay in here with ya or go away?" 

Sometimes, on these bad days, 2-D wanted to be left alone. And that was fine. Russel would check on him every few hours and let him sleep it off. But other days he wanted him to stay with him, comfort him. On those days, Russel would drop any and all plans. _Nothing_ was more important than making sure 2-D was okay. 

"Stay." 

So he would stay. 

2-D was shakily pushing himself up on his arms to sit up in bed so he could drink his tea, and Russel adjusted his pillows against the headboard for him to lean against. 

He didn't miss the small smile on his face when he saw which mug he handed him. 

Russel moved from kneeling on the floor to sit on the edge of the bed, and the two of them sat in silence for a moment. 2-D sipped at his tea, letting out a content sigh after the first warm mouthful. 

Russel gave him a little time before he broke the silence. 

"How bad is it today?" 

"Prolly...seven...no, eight." 

They would always rate 2-D's headaches on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst. Thankfully Russel could count the amount of times the headaches had been a level ten, although the number was still far too high for his liking. 

"You take your pills?" 

2-D nodded quickly before wincing at the motion. 

Russel's face softened. 

"How many?" 

"Only...couple more than I'm s'posed ta..." His boyfriend peered at him guiltily over his mug, and Russel sighed. He'd scold him for that later. He couldn't get _too_ mad at him right now, he was just trying to get rid of the pain. At least he hadn't overdone it too much. 

2-D's pain pill addiction was something they'd been working on. Slowly but surely he'd gotten better at only taking what he was supposed to, and Russel was so, _so_ unbelievably proud of him. 

But some days he'd slip and take more. Thankfully it wasn't usually on normal days, only days like this, when the pain had become unbearable. 

And he'd been getting better about that, too. Today must really have been a bad one. 

After a few minutes 2-D finished his tea and settled back down in the blankets. He held out his arms to Russel, an invitation to cuddle. Russel wouldn't deny him, especially not right now.

He chuckled, as quietly as he could make himself, before settling on the other side of the bed. He'd barely finished laying down before 2-D had wrapped himself around him, clinging to him like his touch alone could free him from the pain in his head. 

His face was buried in Russel's chest and one arm was wrapped around him, the other trapped between their bodies and clutching onto his shirt. Russel softly rested one of his arms over his boyfriend's waist and the other around his shoulders, hugging him to his chest. 

He found himself absentmindedly stroking his fingers down 2-D's spine, and the other man seemed to find that comforting, so he continued to do it. 2-D wasn't wearing a shirt, so it made the protrusion of his bones that much more obvious. 

Russel had always worried about how skinny he was. He always feared he hadn't eaten enough, perhaps that he was fucked up on too many different drugs to even remember food existed, or that the drugs were taking even more of a toll on his body than he realized. Over the years, though, he mostly learned that 2-D was just built like that. He'd at least put on a little bit more muscle over the past couple of years. 

After a few minutes he felt 2-D curl tighter against him, and he leaned down to kiss his sweat-damp hair. The fingers in his shirt clutched tighter. He didn't say anything, just kept holding him. Words wouldn't do much good right now, anyhow. Might even make things worse. 

When he felt a couple of tears soak his shirt he moved his hand from his boyfriend's shoulders to scratch lightly at his scalp. He seemed to relax at the touch. 

And they stayed like that for a while. Eventually 2-D fell asleep. Russel was glad for it. If he was asleep he wouldn't be able to feel the pain he was in. Perhaps when he woke up he would be feeling a little bit better. 

* * *

Several hours later Russel awoke. He hadn't even realized that he'd also fallen asleep. 

When he glanced down he couldn't help his smile. 2-D was still asleep, but his head was resting on Russel's bicep, his cheek smooshed against it. He was drooling a little bit, and normally Russel would find that a bit gross, but right now it was just endearing. 

It was hard to tell with him being asleep, but he seemed to be feeling a bit better. The color was back in his cheeks, and he'd stopped sweating. The nap had seemed to bring some life back into him. 

But Russel wouldn't wake him up just yet. 

Instead he watched him. Watched his gentle exhales, the rise and fall of his chest. Watched as his eyes moved behind his eyelids, signifying that he was probably having a dream. Eventually watched as those eyelids fluttered open. 

2-D looked up at him blankly for a moment before his brain seemed to finally catch up with his body and he could remember the context of the situation. Russel liked to watch the gears turning in his head. It was cute, in a way. 

When his brain and body seemed to be in the same place he flashed Russel a toothy(well, as toothy as it could be, considering he was missing many of his teeth) grin. 

"Mornin', Russ!" 

Russel glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. 

"It's 7pm, 'D." 

"But we slept, so it's mornin'." 

Russel stared at him for a second before chuckling. "Yeah, sure, _that's_ how it works." He waited a second before continuing. "You feelin' any better now, baby?" 

At the pet name 2-D's broad grin softened into a loving smile. Russel cherished it. 

He nodded his head, and this time the motion didn't seem to send pain throughout his entire body. That was good. 

"Good." 

Russel hated the fact he'd gotten used to days like these. 

He shouldn't have been used to it. It shouldn't happen so much that he was used to it.

Days like these shouldn't happen, but they did. And, if nothing else, at least he knew what to do to make days like these just a little bit more bearable. 

**Author's Note:**

> The other day I learned peppermint tea is often used to help with headaches and I got a little bit upset.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you like!
> 
> tumblr: kirishimasmom


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